Your latest questions answered! As always, if something's on your mind and you are bored enough to hear me drone onl, don't be shy and ask. I'll try to answer everything as best as I can.

josh.blkdmnd13: "Do you think developers might try to use the Dualshock 4's touch pad to authenticate thumbprints as method of locking out used game sales?"

Ha, no chance. That would be really evil. Like, Dr.-Evil-evil, since it'd mean that even your room mate wouldn't be able to play your game when you're away. No, the touch pad will be used for navigation -- such as mouse-like control for menus, some bullshit swipe-to-climb-up-the-vine action, and no doubt some really interesting precision controls for games. Sony's always been great at coming up with unique and interesting gameplay concepts, so I'm actually pretty excited about this controller. I wish the L2 and R2 buttons wouldn't curve down the way they do, but everything else looks pretty solid.

Siphen.0: With all the recent changes, do you think there could be more of a push in the other aspects of IGN like Comics/TV/Videos and so forth? And are there any future goal to make them more involved in terms of the community?

For sure. We haven't yet succeeded in creating the same kind of sense of community for some of those beats as with, say, PlayStation. That's not to say that there aren't some super-fans who live and breathe that content -- and many entertainment articles and videos are just as popular as gaming ones. But we're really proud of our non-gaming content (and our editorial team) and will definitely be working on unlocking community collaboration on that end as well. For example, every piece of content we run about "Batman" kills it in terms of traffic and comments. We'd love to do more on that front...

paleselan How necessary do you think it is for Nintendo to add achievements to the Wii U? Do you think it could be a selling point for the system, or do you think most buyers aren't interested in an achievement system when shopping for a system?

I think it’s less of a selling point and more of a retention point. I know many people who are addicted to the meta-game of collecting points and trophies. But like any “addiction,” it’s something that becomes compelling when you’re doing it, not before – and the users (no pun intended) who would be most interested are the ones who are already being served by other platforms. That said, I am surprised Nintendo hasn’t moved on a more structured loyalty program on its platforms. They’ve done a great job incentivizing first-party title purchasing with their Club Nintendo program on-line, but haven’t applied that idea to the Wii, Wii U or 3DS hardware in a more meaningful way. Sure, you can sync your accounts, but it's all very passive. Like online support, voice chat, Mii integration and other features, it’s one of those things where Nintendo doesn’t take a stance and a vocal lead with its licensees. Even if there is no cross-title achievement system, the simple status reward of elevating those who buy and play a lot of games (not just first-party) on Nintendo’s platforms could make a real difference. Every boyscout loves their badges… But no, I don’t think you join explicitly for them.

Now, about those cookies, though...

meghan-ign Mr. Schneider. Your campaign seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?

Well, Lisa...

Sobhuza: Dear Sir

I just wanted to first and foremost say i love the work your team puts in into ign, its really a wonderful site to just sit down and unwind from a crazy days work.

Jut one thing concerns me, the video game president nathan drake and his vice president solid snake have not said anything concerning their video game plans for 2013. I know its a totally fictitious government however, i feel that the fictitious presidency still has some life in itself to feature on ign once in a blue moon.

Thank you Sir Godbless Sobhuza

I hear you. But I think they have good reasons to be mum right now. The class action lawsuit against the La Li Lu Le Lo as well as the on-going concern that Nathan Drake refuses to produce his passport to prove that he is actually American are putting a lot of pressure on this administration.

kmart134: "Will the next gen console games be in 4k or will they just stick to the 1080p as the highest you can play a game on?"

We know that the PS4 supports the resolution for non-gaming applications like movie playback and I bet that the next Xbox will be able to support higher resolutions than 1080p as well. But given that 4K TV install rates will likely be low for the foreseeable future, it’ll be more akin to the PS3’s (niche) ability to output video to multiple displays at once than an actual practical gaming application. Remember that outputting visuals in 4K means supporting as much as four times the resolution as 1080p. Since developers usually create games for the largest possible audience (=people with standard HD displays at this time), 4K would be an afterthought and the additional rendering required could have a huge impact on framerate. It’s the kind of thing you might see in a relatively simple game if Xbox 720 supports it – think Spelunky or Frequency – but not something you’d see in most games. Consoles are attractive platforms for developers because they don't have to deal with the complicated, individualized specs that PCs bring with them. I doubt many console developers are losing sleep over supporting in-game 4K visuals until you and I have screens on our walls.

ponkilo: "What do you think about the current trend of streaming games, either on an esport level or let's plays, quick looks becoming popular? I feel like its opening up the gaming culture to a wider audience which is a good thing but it also brought up an interesting thought in my head the other day. There could be a whole group of people that love games but never play them."

You're right -- spectating is definitely becoming "a thing." My son watches Tekkit videos on YouTube all the time, but we don't actually own Tekkit (only standard Minecraft on Xbox 360). The PS4 announcement has shown that it'll now become even easier to share gameplay footage with others, so I think more people will do their own "let's plays" and gameplay tips with the next generation of platforms than ever before. And the popularity of some of the big LoL and SC2 eSports events -- especially in Korea -- shows that an entirely new games media and fan culture can develop around it. I think it's really cool and I'm sure it'll only grow bigger.

shmuga9: "Can you explain how the whole Nintendo and Pokemon Company thing works? How did Nintendo make first own the games but now another company shares/owns anything related to the property? Wouldn't Nintendo keep the majority shares so they get to make major decisions? Or is it so big that they needed to have someone else take charge of it?"

It's actually not quite as complicated as it looks. The Pokemon Company is owned by Nintendo and handles all Pokemon licensing and brand management. Pokemon is just such a big licensing, marketing, retail, and entertainment business (on top of the games) that Nintendo created a subsidiary to handle all things Pokemon. It's run out of Tokyo (the heart of the media/licensing business in Japan) rather than Nintendo's Kyoto headquarters. With the fact that it's a corporation in its own right comes some business autonomy as well. So that's why you'll see The Pokemon Company pursue some revenue streams that core NCL stays away from (eg, supporting iOS apps).

Yes, sir. If you see me and you don't say hi, I'll be seriously pissed.

Thanks for everyone who asked questions. I saw a few more that trickled in, along with whatever you ask in the comments, that I'll try to answer next week.

Peer Schneider is the co-founder of IGN. Don't bug him this weekend, because he has to finish Mass Effect 3 (I know, kept on pushing it off!) because Tomb Raider is out next week. And that game is looking mighty fine!